WHY. WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY?

BLOG || INSTA

From the summary alone, I knew I was going to be destroyed by this book. And I was unfortunately right, but it hurt even worse. I sat there numb after, not knowing what I was supposed to do next. How do we go on?

I love this series so much. All of these characters are absolutely stunning. Everyone has back story, desires, strengths and weaknesses, EVERYTHING. I love each one of them in their own ways. Even the antagonists have stories and reasons. It makes this push and pull so intriguing and well thought out. There’s a lot of political movements, battles, and quiet moments.

In previous reviews I mentioned that I felt it was missing a touch of romance. THIS GAVE IT TO ME. It just needed a little and this was the perfect amount. I saw some new relationships blossom (and I AM HERE FOR IT) that were tender and precious to watch. I saw some relationships strengthen and hold fast to one another in the darkest moments. I unfortunately saw some relationships ripped from my hands as I pleaded to the bookish gods to give them ONE MORE MOMENT. *walks away from review*

*deep breath*

Okay, I’m back. I clearly am still struggling with that conclusion. Age of War does not mess around and the loss that occurred throughout this book was devastating. I’m really invested in these characters y’all.

And while I love them, the world building and magic system bring it all together. This world is vast and I feel I’m only scratching the surface. It’s utterly stunning. I think the magic system is clever and actually makes sense (I know we’ve all read magic books when we sit there saying “what….?”). There’s reasoning and explanations for why things are the way they are (regardless if it should or will remain that way).

This series is fantastic and I will recommend it ALL DAY.

Overall audience notes:
- High fantasy
- Language: b*tch used two or three times
- Romance: a few kisses
- Violence: swords, elemental magic, poison, arrows, demons, physical
- Trigger warnings: suicide ideation